Page 8 of Compelling Urges

“He sure as hell never mentioned that the two of you were shacking up. Only that he knew you were okay. Little did I know how well he knew it.” Ivy eyed Bodhi suspiciously as his voice cracked with emotion. “I hope you’re happy, I really do. Please don’t hate me, though. I couldn’t stand knowing that. You have to understand how quickly I came to my senses and… God, I missed you. I missed this place, I missed surfing, and I… uh… missed… Cooper. I left everything and everyone I love just because someoneflatteredme and told me I’d make a huge name for myself and make a ton of money by heading up the company in London when I could have had it all right here. I was so fucking stupid, Ivy!” He hung his head. “I’m ashamed of myself. I let blind ambition and fear of commitment wreck everything. They sent me over there knowing the office was actually in shambles and no one else wanted to go.”

“Well… now what?” Ivy asked. “It’s pretty weird living in the same house with you, especially after you just declared your love for me. And Cooper and I need our privacy, so…”

Bodhi’s attention snapped to her. “Are you sure about that?” he broke in, cocking his head slightly.

“What do you mean by that?” Ivy asked, stiffening.

Bodhi finally gave her a shadow of a smile. “Well, I don’t know. You seemed pretty happy to have me watch you blow Cooper, and he certainly got off on it. He even admitted he enjoyed it, so don’t get all fake prim and proper about it now. I heard you cry out my name while you guys were having your fun too, so what was that all about?”

Turning beet red, Ivy looked away. “Don’t get the wrong idea. It wasn’t what it may have sounded like.”

Bodhi remembered the laughter that followed her cry and decided maybe he would be happier not knowing, but he couldn’t make himself let it alone. “No? So, what was it, huh? You wanted me to come back and play? You missed me?”

“Drop it, Bodhi. You won’t like the answer.”

“Right. Well, we can possibly agree to disagree on that one, but it sounded pretty sexy to me, and I don’t mind saying I wouldn’t be opposed to joining in on some of your fun—if that’s what you want.”

“What are you suggesting?” Ivy squirmed a little in her seat and continued to blush.

“Are you attracted to me, Ivy? The truth.”

She frowned and answered, “You’re still… attractive to me, even though you’re as pale as the Pillsbury Doughboy now. But physical attraction doesn’t mean I want to follow through on anything with you.”

Throwing back his head, Bodhi laughed. “That’s what a year in London and away from the beach will do to you. I’ve lost my Golden Boy glow—is that what you’re saying?”

“Yeah,” she laughed softly. “You look a little pasty.”

“A few days in the sun will restore my previous vitality,” he said with a smirk. “And then how will you be able to resist me?”

“Bodhi! I’m ashamed of you. I’m engaged to Cooper, and I’m not going to cheat on him, tan or no tan. That’s just stupid talk.”

“We’ll see.” Privately he thought she was a hundred percent right, and he wouldn’t butt in, but it was fun to jab at her.

“No, we sure as hell won’t see, Bodhi Monaghan!”

Her eyes flashed at him angrily and he felt himself getting hard. He’d always loved to rile her up a little because the sex was incredible when she was emotional. He chuckled at her.

Changing the subject, Ivy asked, “Why don’t you ask Cooper when he’ll be home this evening, and maybe the two of you can go surf for an hour or so?”

“Excellent idea, my beautiful Ivy.”

“I’mnotyours.”

“Go on telling yourself that if it makes you happy.”

“God, you’re insufferably conceited!”

“I know.” Bodhi shoved the remaining bite of muffin into his mouth and smiled at her. “Mmm,” he moaned.

Chapter 9

Later that evening, the two men grabbed their boards and headed down to the beach. They didn’t return until well after the sun had set, and both of them looked pleased with themselves. In typical guy fashion, they seemed to be relaxing around each other by just spending time together and not talking about anything but their shared enjoyment of surfing. When they got back to the house, Ivy was waiting. Cooper and Bodhi hurried off to take showers before dinner. When they returned, Ivy was piling the last of the tacos onto a large platter.

“How was it?” Ivy asked.

“Great,” exclaimed Bodhi as Cooper reached into the refrigerator to grab some beers. “Thank you for fixing dinner, Ivy. You didn’t have to do that for us.”

She shrugged noncommittally. “Eh, we have to eat, and I was in a taco mood. There’s mild salsa in this bowl and real salsa in the blue one.”

---